Becoming a Family of Five

As I finally have the energy and time to sit down and write the blog that I've been trying to write for almost 3 weeks, it's hitting me that we have been a family of 5 for almost 3 weeks! I can't believe how quickly time has flown. I guess when you have 3 kids two years and under, life most pretty fast.

But... I guess I should back up. Our family was blessed to grow by 2 more on July 22, 2013. Although my husband and I knew we were expecting twins, we didn't realize how much our lives would change at the end of June when I went into the hospital with pre-term labor. Fortunately the doctors in Boston were able to postpone my delivery for a little less than 5 weeks and I stayed on hospital bed rest until 37 weeks, full term for twins. I'll share my pregnancy and labor story in another blog for those who are interested. I relied on a lot on other twin mothers' blogs throughout my pregnancy so I hope that my story may give others hope and comfort throughout their own pregnancy.

On Monday, July 22nd my husband and I were excited and nervous that we were finally going to meet the twins. At 6:32 PM Jackson Nicholas was born and at 6:44 PM along came Olivia Marie. Both twins were healthy and good sized babies for twins. Jackson was 7 pounds 2 ounces and Olivia was 6 pounds 4 ounces.  I am definitely thankful for the extra weeks of delayed delivery!

Olivia Marie (Left) and Jackson Nicholas (Right)

From the start our neighbors, family and friends jumped in and helped out in any way possible. I can't even begin to describe how much we appreciated the dinners, extra hands and thoughtful gifts and time spent with our daughter Isabella. We would have had a much more challenging transition home without everyone's continued support. However, this week we've started to settle in our family with less help from others. We figured it was time to start getting our feet wet and figuring how to manage on our own.

We knew it'd be crazy, but it seems like a storm is on the horizon in our house. Between our independent two year old and the frequent needs of the twins, it feels like nothing is accomplished but diaper changing, feeding them and bath time. By the time we get the twins settled, our daughter wants something. Or as soon as we get our daughter settled, the twins are ready to be held or eat! I'm pretty sure that parents of twins should be able to adapt like wild animals and sprout a few extra hands... just kidding.. sort of. We were prepared as best we could be for the whirlwind that became our house, but it's still an eye-opener when you think of how frequently they eat and the amount of diapers that 3 kids go through! Sleep is really nonexistent, but we knew to expect that. Unfortunately you can't bank hours before the babies come.

Don't get me wrong. The past few weeks have been non-stop, exhausting and stressful. However, they also have been the best few weeks of my life. Welcoming Jackson and Olivia into our family has felt like the perfect fit. All 3 of us are filled with love for our new family and are enjoying getting to know the little personalities. It has also made us cherish our time with Isabella more and stop to take any free chance we have to make our time with her special. It's also strengthened my husband and I as a team. We continue to grow as parents and work together to do the best we can for all of our children. Three weeks have almost passed. I can't wait to see how many changes for the better our family continues to go through!